“Well, don’t get too used to it,” I muttered before giving myself a shake and getting on with things. She’s a Goddess, remember, fucktard.
“So, Jenae… first, thanks for your help with the assault, and for helping to boost my experience with the quest. I really needed the extra stats in that fight!” I said, nodding my head as I tried to make sure I didn’t think anything stupid… blue elephant, blue… dammit!
“You’re welcome...? What is the blue elephant?”
“Dammit! Look, this is really freaking me out, with you being in my head, okay? I’m trying not to think anything inappropriate, especially considering you’re a Goddess, not just a woman in my brain, which is freaky enough. It’s taken me this long to get used to Oracle! So…look, let’s start again, okay?”
“Okay, Jax… well, you called to me. Well done on that, and thank you for the mana, but I assume you need something?”
“Yeah, I do, a few things, actually. First, and most importantly, Tommy. He’s my brother, and he was sent here five years ago… do you know if he’s alive? Can you tell me where he is?” I asked quickly. I’d almost chickened out, mainly because I didn’t know what I’d do if he was dead.
“I can look for him, but I have truly little power to touch the world now, Jax. It could take weeks, or even months, to build up enough disposable mana to search this small section of the realm. Show him to me in your mind, and I will try to help you. I can promise no more, but you will owe me the mana, or a quest!” I followed her instruction, visualizing my brother, thinking about what he’d looked like when I’d seen him last, his personality; hell, even the way he stank the place out when we’d been eating curry. I had no idea what would be helpful, so I just… threw it all at her, receiving a mental nod of acknowledgement.
“Totally fine with that! Please, just…see if you can find him! Thank you!” I said, nervous in a way I hadn’t felt in years. “Also, you said I needed five Marks of Favor to gain my first star in the Constellation of Secrets. How can I earn those?”
“You earn my Marks of Favor by doing things I like. Complete quests for me, find hidden knowledge, dedicate shrines to me, and I will occasionally gift you them when you do things I am particularly proud of you for, or when you spread worship and knowledge of me in the realm.”
“Worship, right. That brings up something else I’ve been thinking about. I had to give you a thousand mana to contact you, right? How do your priests and worshippers contact you or pray to you if they haven’t got mana?”
“All creatures have mana within them. Most never learn to tap into it, but all have it. My priests were all able to use magic, as well as abilities I granted them."
"The common people could pray to me inside my temples or touch a sanctified symbol of mine; both methods would slowly drain their mana to me as they prayed. If I had required only mana users to pray to me, I would have been a much weaker God. After all, there are many thousands of sentient creatures that have not unlocked its secrets, for each one that has…”
“Wait; you mean if I had symbols that you sanctified, then people could pray to you now?”
“Of course. I was hoping you’d want to spread knowledge of me to your people; after all, what good is dedicating the Tower to me if that’s all you ever do? It’d take centuries before I could grow my reach again without prayers.”
“You mean they could pray to you now? Just because they’re inside the Tower, and it’s dedicated to you?” I asked, my mind racing with the possibilities.
“Yes, and I see what’s in your mind. Here,” Jenae said, amusement and excitement clear in her voice.
You have been offered a Quest! ‘My God is better than your God…’
For every two worshippers you bring to Jenae’s service, she will grant you one Mark of Favor. To qualify, a worshipper must donate at least ten mana per third day to Jenae…
Will you accept? Yes/No…
“What if they donate a lot more, like a hundred a day; that goes towards my totals?"
"You said I needed…ten thousand mana and five marks of Favor for each star in the first ring, right?” I asked, summoning the Starscape with a thought.
As before, it started with a tiny spark flickering to life before me; then, like a fire burning through dry paper, it spread, blazing through the air until it reached a meter square, and I could see into the blackened section. Inside, a single star glimmered and pulsed. Set in a ring around it were six more stars, all dead. A faint line ran from the first star to each of the others, then beyond them I could just see the lines disappearing into the darkness, hinting at the stars hidden beyond. Some had multiple lines, and I just wanted them all! The completionist gamer in me cried out at the sight, just as it had whenever I’d looked at since Jenae had first given me access.
I knew the names of the first six stars, but not really what they’d give me, beyond the basic details Jenae had shared:
Enhanced Construction was at the top; then rolling clockwise, it went to Magical Research, Crafting, Governance, Personal Enhancement, and Exploration. I knew from our last conversation that unlocking one of the stars would grant me options for dedicating my mana, and once they unlocked, I’d get help, advice, blueprints all of it from the Goddess. I needed it all!
“If your people donate their mana to me, then yes, I’ll count it against the mana cost of the Constellation of Secrets. If I didn’t, it’d take you centuries to unlock even a fraction of a
